Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What a frantic morning. If I thought my abs hurt yesterday, I was wrong. They were burning even worse when I woke up today. The weather sites I look at are telling me that it's in the high 40s outside. I hit refresh a few times, and check the timestamps to make sure I'm not seeing last night's numbers. I love this stuff! I quickly tossed on a single light layer of clothes. Then, I packed up some leftover chili for lunch, some tooth-rotting, artery-clogging breakfast stuff, and my water bottle. Look at the time! I got outside at 6:05! I was running WAY behind schedule, and it's probably a good thing.

I heard sirens as I stepped out. Not just one police car. Several. Looking in all directions, I couldn't see any constabulary cruisers. As I hit Quivira, everything changed. I encountered a headwind that I'd later find out was closing in on 30 MPH, gusting 32. Then, I got to the viaduct. Running late, riding uphill and into the wind, I slogged. That's when all hell broke loose. The cops' clamoring klaxons wailed coarsely behind me. Within seconds, my rear view was full of sapphire and scarlet strobes. I retreated to the narrow, rubbish-laden gutter on the viaduct. One, two, then three black-and-whites lumbered past, piloted by Lenexa's finest. The doppler of their sirens was like something you'd hear in a cartoon. They vanished over the incline's apex in the blink of an eye.

Just as I lost visual contact with the third cruiser, the obstinate headwind seemed to slow. Gentler and gentler the breeze got, until it came to a moment of calm. Suddenly, a maelstrom overcame me from aft and port, sending gutter debris into the air and pushing me gently against the concrete barrier next to which I'd halted. I have no clue how fast the officers were traveling, but they were clearly in the left lane, nearly 20 feet from me. As I crested the viaduct, a fourth, unmarked law-enforcement buggy whizzed past with dazzling luminescence and plenty of noise, not going much faster than the posted speed limit.

Ahead, many more emergency vehicles were convening and barreling southbound on Quivira. Upon arrival to the bus stop, I discover that one transit denizen had counted as many as a dozen such vehicles. Click on the photo for the full story. Needless to say, had I left on time, I would have likely been much more involved in the chase than I already was. Earlier this month, a young cyclist was actually killed by an evading driver during a police chase. While officers have the judgment, reflexes, and concern to keep left, I'm almost certain that the only such chivalry I would have been granted from the reckless adversary would have come at the bequest of luck.

5 comments:

There's a trail in that area and on KSHB's coverage, you could see at one point where a cruiser was on the trail (mostly blocking it)and there was a cyclist with its light on, going around it on the trail in a westerly direction. Not you Noah but I did think about you being out there battling the commute!

Thanks, Curtis. I'm almost certain there are a few visitors that keep coming back just for my occasional wordplay.

I try to use at least one slightly or extremely obscure word every day. Sometimes, I mix it up with a little bit of meter, alliteration, or rhyme. Other days, this place is nothing more than dry, boring ride reports. It's a mixed bag.

A police chase possibly saved me from an indecent exposure charge a little while back. I was riding fixed with my pants rolled up, but they weren't rolled up quite high enough. My pants caught in the chain and my entire right pant leg ripped off all the way to the waistband. My tighty whities were exposed for all to see on a major arterial with very heavy traffic.

Fortunately, some bad guys picked THAT MOMENT to crash their car almost directly across from me in the opposite lanes, with police following shortly after. All attention was focused on the police action as I quickly used the remnants of my pants to wrap around my hips, miniskirt style, so I could get the half mile back to my office where I had some rainpants stashed in my desk.

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